Cardio Score?

[CourtneyHaver]

So it seems like your cardio score is only affected by logging runs? Is that correct? I had a double knee replacement (and always despised running), so that’s really not an option - but I do a flow-based yoga class 4 times a week and take a brisk two mile walk/spend twenty to thirty minutes going up and down the staircase a couple more times a week. My cardio range is poor to fair, I don’t see how that’s possible (not that I’m in amazing shape, but I do stay active). 

has anyone tried doing a different activity, and listing it as a run? Obv yoga is not going to respond to GPS, but I (supposedly) burn two hundred to three hundred calories per hour class. Actually, the calories I burn have started decreasing a bit after six months of faithfully practicing, and improving (I think!). 

I know this is a pretty dumb question, but I’d like to be able to track improvement as I continue on my fitness journey. 

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

Hi @CourtneyHaver   Not a dumb question at all!  To start, Fitbit's cardio fitness score is an estimate of your vO2max.  This is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during intense sustained exercise.  The gold standard measurement has you exercising on a treadmill or a stationary bike with a tight fitting mask.  The mask measures the air you inhale/exhale to calculate your oxygen uptake.  There are several tests like the Rockport Walk Test and the Cooper Run Test that estimate your vO2max without the mask and the exercise lab.

Fitbit gives you a cardio fitness score range, unless you do GPS tracked runs at least 10 minutes long.  It is a more precise estimate.  It looks like Fitbit has its own proprietary modification of the Cooper Run Test.  I haven't tried it, but you can try this.  You must use the Run exercise shortcut with GPS.  Walk as briskly as you can to cover as much distance as possible.  Do this on very flat terrain.